Gym Member Spotlight – Erica Altenhofen

Gym Member Spotlight – Erica Altenhofen

This month, we spotlight Core member Erica. Erica’s fitness journey brought her to Core Fitness over a year ago. Due to a strong commitment to her goals, she has lost over 100 POUNDS and continues to be a strong example to everyone around her. Erica’s first group fitness class was BodyPump and we were instantly impressed by her level of commitment, how hard she works, her always positive energy, and the ways she encourages others.

Check out Erica’s interview below to find out what she loves about Core and how she stays motivated to reach her goals.

1. What Motivates you to stay so consistent with your workouts?
I know when I get my workouts in my anxiety level drops dramatically. I admit, it’s much harder to fit exercise in now that I work full time. However, I know I need it. I treat my workouts like a job now. 3 days a week at home and 2 days a week at the gym.

2. What has been your biggest struggle in this journey?
Hmmmmm biggest struggle…I’m not sure. Probably realizing how much I need the exercise portion. My weight loss journey started a year before my exercise journey started. So the nutrition is second nature now. Exercise is still a continual mental battle.

3. How has nutrition played a role in your success? What changes have you made to your diet?
I worked on my nutrition almost a full year before I stepped foot in the gym. It took me a while to get into it and figure it out. I decided when it became second nature to me that I would incorporate exercise. Some things that changed about my diet are eating more often, every three hours. I don’t eat sugar anymore. I have changed to heathy grains too. And for the most part I separate fat and carb meals. It has been very doable. If it wasn’t doable for me I wouldn’t continue with it. This month marks my 2 year nutrition anniversary.

4. Tell us about some of your favorite Group Fitness classes and how Core has helped you in your fitness journey.
Group fitness is amazing!! I love everything about it. I love that instructors care about the people in their classes. They get to know you. It’s motivating to compete with myself each week. I like to push myself to do better every class. When I first started RPM class last year my racing speed was maybe 100 and I couldn’t last. This Monday I was able to race in the 140s and keep up. It’s fun to see progress like that! So, I guess you can see that I love RPM. I also really like pump. Another class I am excited about is the new pound fit class! It is loud and so fun you don’t realize you’re working out.

5. What was a common misconception that you’ve realized about healthy and fitness?
I’m still learning that I need to eat more. Sometimes I decide to cut my calories way down because I am so close to my goal. The scale will stall every time. Once I eat enough to fuel my body the weight starts falling off again. It has taken me a long time to learn this. And I think it will be an ever going learning process.

6. What fitness Goals do you have for yourself going forward?
My fitness goals are to tone up and get to a healthy BMI. I have been overweight my whole life. I weigh less now that when I was 11 years old so achieving that would mean a lot to me. I would like to continue to get to the gym 2-3 times a week. I want to keep consistent and not slack off.

7. What one piece of advice would you give to a friend just starting out?
My best advice is to start slow. One meal change per day. Then 2 meal changes. Then 3. Remember that one ‘off plan’ meal or snack isn’t the end of the world. Start again at your next meal time.